~ east, west…pudding's best

Big: Episode 15

Only one more episode left! So I kind of knew nothing would really happen in this one, but since nothing has really been happening in this drama in general, it wasn’t as frustrating as other penultimate episodes. In fact, Da Ran got to experiment with a few different personas, and it was kind of interesting to see which other directions her character could have taken, instead of remaining the super lame heroine she has been throughout Big.

Gyeong Jun’s Big Idea upon coming to was to pretend that his memory had been wiped clean, meaning he could only remember up to the accident. He figured that this would prepare Da Ran for the heartbreak of when this would really happen, since two heartbreaks are better than one. This is why the drama shouldn’t leave the planning up to Gyeong Jun. I guess it worked, since Ma Ri was more than willing to go along with this little ruse, and since Da Ran always knew he was lying the whole time. I think it was supposed to hurt when he was cold to her, saying things like he feels uncomfortable around her, but since I’ve been finding it uncomfortable to watch them together for the entire run, I didn’t find his “mean” behavior so bad.

Plus, Da Ran faced this new challenge fairly well. I didn’t like her whiney, weepy ways, but her super creepy behavior which came next was more watchable. It should have made my skin crawl as she beadily watched him eat the ramyun she had made for him (new flavor!), telling him that he didn’t have to say anything for her to know that he was enjoying it. But this slightly predatory Da Ran seemed to come more naturally to the actress, so it wasn’t nearly as painful as watching her do things like act cutesy. She was also a lot better once she got angry, and totally hurt his feelings in turn. He persisted in his stupid little lie, so she told him a few of her own; namely, that their “something-something” had just been a little fling/scandal to her, and that she was just hovering because she was scared and ashamed of someone finding out the truth. I would have preferred to watch that drama, but I guess the Hong Sisters weren’t ready for a full-out makjang yet.

Her coldness was short-lived, as she soon reverted to her crying self after Gyeong Jun rushed off to stop her from interviewing in a school in the boonies. She had just been so funny when she told him that she probably wouldn’t be coming home that night, but she ruined it by later telling him that she regretted ever having told someone like him that she loved him. And then she got drunk. Whatever. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with her self-imposed exile (though I think that her father’s idea to go to a remote island was more romantic), but apparently this was a horrible move that the whole Gil Family tried to put a stop to.

Gyeong Jun didn’t just torture Da Ran in this episode, he also tied up a bunch of loose ends, since he also thinks that he has a solid handle on this swapping business, and that it’s now up to him when to switch. It’s like Dorothy – he could have gone home any time! It soon became clear that he had stuck around for an extra inning not to give Da Ran more time, but to give himself more time with her, so convinced is he that he will forget his feelings for her entirely. Since it obviously means nothing that before the accident, he had already developed an inappropriate crush on her. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I sort of agree with Chung Sik on this count – how love is in the heart, not the mind. Gyeong Jun shouldn’t worry about losing his memory, since shouldn’t he fall in love with Da Ran all over again? Joon Sang (from Winter Sonata, of course) could, and he had amnesia.

But for now, Gyeong Jun believes that the best thing to do is to erase himself from Da Ran’s life, returning her to the moment before the accident. I know he thinks he understands the mechanics of a switcheroo, but that hardly makes him the master of time, space, or memory. Ah, the arrogance of youth. Anyways, in order to do this, he needed to take her to that faraway place where they had been together right before his crash, throw the watch she had given him into the water, and then abandon her there, even though her parents and in-laws were waiting for her in Seoul. She was wearing a white dress, which should have immediately tipped us off to the fact that she was about to get really dirty.

For Da Ran is a K-drama heroine, meaning that a shallow pond was nothing to her. Into the water she went, getting all gross and muddy in her quest for the watch, and then she hitchhiked back to Seoul, just in time to appear in all of her urchin-y glory at the family get together. As if this weren’t enough, she also further embarrassed her family by announcing that yes, she was a scarlet woman who had cheated on her husband with someone who had taken her to the moon and on a submarine adventure. Doesn’t she know how that will sound to people who weren’t privy to her extended fantasy sequences a few episodes back? Anyways, she finishes off by declaring that she loves KKJ – try to erase that from everyone’s memories, Gyeong Jun.